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Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting October 2012

We know you love the quilt projects that appear in American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. We took inspiration from projects in the magazine and created Web-exclusive versions, complete with full instructions as well as staff color options.

Maple Leaf Farm Color Option

Winter Wonderland

Blue and green combine perfectly in quilt tester Laura Boehnke’s quilt. This color pairing--beyond traditional holiday colors--allows you to display your quilt longer so you can get more mileage out of your seasonal decor. Fabrics are from the Winter Menagerie collection by Jason Yenter for In the Beginning Fabrics.

Maple Leaf Farm Staff Color Option

Sometimes busy prints can produce rich color rewards, as was the case in senior editor Elizabeth Beese’s version, which uses a collage print as its focal point. The variety of scale and colors in the main print belies the simplicity of the piecing in this elegant, easy throw. Fabrics are from the Explorer collection by Punch Studio for Hoffman California Fabrics.

Pixie Sticks Color Option

Retro Zigzags

For her version quilt tester Laura Boehnke took a different slant, placing like fabric pieces in horizontal, rather than vertical, rows. She aimed for contrast in colors and patterns between rows, even when you had adjacent pink rows. Fabrics are from the Veranda collection by Verna Mosquera for FreeSpirit.

Pixie Sticks Staff Color Option

Deliberate placement and minimal contrast were editor Jill Abeloe Mead’s color goals for her watercolor-inspired version. She used her design wall to plan the waves of color. The natural variations in batiks lend themselves well to blending colors effortlessly. Fabrics are from the Artisan Batiks: Dotty Dot roll-up (precut 21⁄2"-wide strips) by Lunn Studios for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

Back on Track Color Option

Designer Carrie Nelson so enjoyed making Back on Track that she created a second version with a few differences. In the original quilt, Carrie used a single background to unify the scrappy blocks. Because the second color palette was a bit more controlled, she opted to make the background and border scrappy instead. Carrie also added pink sashing squares and limited the sashing strips to browns and tans.

After making blocks for the original quilt, Carrie decided she wanted the Xs to “float” inside the blocks so she gave each block a separate border of the background fabric.

Back on Track Color Option

Crossing Paths

Repeating a color in every phase of your quiltmaking provides continuity. For that reason, quilt tester Laura Boehnke used black print sashing in her version. Repeating the black print coordinates from the blocks unifies the quilt center overall, and the black in the paisley border print ties it all together. Fabrics are from the Vintage Vibe collection by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics.

Crack the Code Color Option

Tropical Twist

Quilt tester Laura Boehnke’s version of Crack the Code emphasizes the sashing. Her choice of bright blue corrals the mix of vibrant batiks within each block of her color-infused quilt. Fabrics are from the Gumdrop Tonga Batiks collection from Timeless Treasures Fabrics.

Crack the Code Staff Color Option

Design director Nancy Wiles used her favorite print in multiple places on her single-block version. The repetition of a fabric in any quilt design helps unify the overall look. Fabrics are from the Bukhara collection from Dear Stella.

How Sweet It Is Color Option

Flower appliqués are most often rendered in realistic colors, but quilt tester Laura Boehnke didn’t let realism stop her from choosing a palette that better matches her decor. Laura’s decision to use a large-scale abstract print for the setting squares makes the resulting throw appear more intricate than it actually is.
Fabrics are from the Earthtones collection by Norman Wyatt, Jr., for P&B Textiles.

How Sweet It Is Staff Color Option

In intern Ivy Christianson’s interpretation of How Sweet It Is, the stars recede and pinwheel centers pop around an hourglass square on point that forms where the four blocks come together. The faded look of the lighter prints minimizes the distinction between the pieces that form the background. Fabrics are from the Gentle Flowers Vintage Bloom collection from Quilt Gate.

Harvest Rows

Harvest Rows Color Option

Southwestern Plains

Fussy-cutting and deliberate placement of a directional print, such as the stripe quilt tester Laura Boehnke used for the sashing of her version, directs your focus to the quilt center. Fabrics are from the Desert Dreams collection by Kensington Studio for Quilting Treasures.

Harvest Rows Staff Color Option

Assistant editor Jody Sanders pulled from a stash of 1930s reproduction prints to make a straight-set interpretation of Harvest Rows. In addition to making four Big Dipper blocks (each one with four matching hourglass units rotated to form a pinwheel), Jody made five additional hourglass units--four for the border and one she trimmed to 2" square and used as a sashing square in the center of the quilt.

Under the Big Top Color Option

Wheel of Fortune

Tame the riot of color by narrowing the palette to just a couple of colors and adding a neutral, like in quilt tester Laura Boehnke’s quilt. With the addition of brown as a neutral to the green-and-blue palette, her single-block version does just that. Fabrics are from the Robin collection by Erin Ries and the Impressions Moire collection, both from Clothworks.

Under the Big Top Staff Color Option

Executive editor Jennifer Keltner flipped the script for her monochromatic wool version, using a stripe for the background and tone-on-tones for the appliqués. She whipstitched each piece in place with matching-color threads so the stitching would show as little as possible.

Delightfully Frightful

Delightfully Frightful Color Option

Ornate Floral Pillow

For even quicker home decor, fussy-cut a beautiful large-print fabric to use in place of the center appliqué. If you can’t locate matching ribbon, use a strip of coordinating fabric (bias-cut so it won’t fray). Fabrics are from the Ruby collection from Timeless Treasures Fabrics.